


moonsea

by darlingneverland



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters: Sun & Moon | Pokemon Sun & Moon Versions
Genre: Character Study, F/F, F/M, Growing Up, POV Third Person Limited, Pining, Pokemon Journey, how am i the first one to use a hau/lillie/moon tag......., ot3 not a love triangle, post-game spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-13
Updated: 2017-01-13
Packaged: 2018-09-17 08:21:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,370
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9313304
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/darlingneverland/pseuds/darlingneverland
Summary: Moon tries not to feel left behind.





	

**Author's Note:**

> this is one of the most self-indulgent things i've ever written n i'm not sorry

As the ferry drove away, Moon kept the smile on her face, though she guessed that if she could see herself, her eyes would be red, watery. Behind her, Hau sniffled. She kept her back to him.

“We’ll see her again,” she said.

The ferry moved further and further towards the horizon, until it was nothing more than a speck, and then gone.

* * *

 

The first few months after...everything, she mainly traveled between the League and her home: to defend her title against eager challengers; to rest. Hala’s loud belly laugh always followed after her challenger’s last pokemon fainted, hardly surprised and endlessly delighted. She smiled and tended to her pokemon quietly.

“Unbeatable, this girl,” he told the others.

Moon flushed pink.

The next day, she stepped out into the frigid air atop Lanakali, hugging her arms to herself. The nurse at the Pokemon Center grinned at her as she took her pokeballs and rambled about how one of her older cousins personally knew Kanto’s champion. Moon nodded, head ducked to stare down at her shoes.

Outside, she called for Charizard. It snorted, hot puffs of air hitting her directly in the face. She reached a hand out. It nudged her palm with its snout.

“Iki Town,” she said. “On Melemele.”

* * *

 

At the center of the town, Hau yelled words of encouragement at two former Team Skull members. Although their black shirts lacked the glaring insignia, they kept the black cloths over their mouths and wore identical outfits. One of them dyed their hair red opposed to the bright blue that most of the male members had, but other than that: there was hardly any difference from a year ago to now.

Hau was taller; his dark green hair longer. When she stopped right before the battle area, though, his grin was the same.

“Break time!” he yelled at the former grunts, running down the steps before all but leaping into Moon’s arms. The hug crushed the air out of her, but she laughed and wrapped both arms around his shoulders.

They separated and Hau reached for a pokeball at his belt.

Moon grinned.

* * *

 

 _Malasadas after battle,_ was now an ages old tradition, they decided. 

“Personally, I prefer the sour malasadas.” Hau offered a piece to his Raichu after their orders arrived. It nibbled on it at first and then accepted it with a soft, _‘Chu!’_ “Don’t get me wrong, though. All malasadas are good malasadas. There’s just something about the sour ones.”

Moon bit her malasada and then offered the rest to her own Raichu, distinguished from Hau’s by the silk ribbon tied around its neck. It accepted it with an eager noise and then nuzzled against her leg.

“I like the sweet ones best.” She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear.

Hau smiled down at his Raichu. He reached down to pet it between its ears, but there was a look in his eye that Moon couldn’t distinguish.

“So does Lillie.”

* * *

 

Lillie’s letters were long and detailed. In another life, she could’ve been a writer. The descriptive images in her writings of Kanto reminded Moon of the poetry books her mom had kept on a shelf back in their home in Kanto (but still in boxes in their home, here, in Alola). She sent polaroids too: of grassy plains that Moon recognized from her childhood; of her and her sylveon, pressed cheek to cheek while grinning at the camera, Lillie’s arm outstretched; of sunlight filtering through trees’ leaves in the Viridian forest; of her bulbasaur holding a bright yellow flower.

Moon sent polaroids more often than not, often of her and Hau with matching grins and various spots of Alola and the captains and kahunas. She made sure to send pictures of Nebby and her other pokemon. Nebby took an instant liking to Mimikyu, funnily enough. Most of the pictures consisted of the two of them asleep, Mimikyu curled up against Nebby’s stomach, the larger pokemon’s tail curled around it. Pictures were easier; words always seemed to tangle in her mouth and never come out right, no matter whether spoken or written.

Hau’s letters to Lillie were pages long: he spent endless energy detailing his island trials, his pokemon, the friends he made along the way. He liked to hand Moon his letters before he sent them out so that she could proofread it. She blushed every time he mentioned her and ducked her head, glad for the large sunhat she bought that easily covered her face.

* * *

 

The older woman’s purple hair glinted in the light.

“Will you join us?”

She was smiling.

Moon’s expression hardly wavered; she had been smiling from the moment she stepped foot into a region she instantly disliked: far too humid and bright, a contrast to Kanto and her home in Saffron City. The corners of her mouth twitched into a frown for a moment.

And then she smiled.

* * *

 

Nihilego floated before her.

Lusamine’s hair resembled it: so blonde that it faded into an almost white; bangs that covered half her face; so long that it seemed like a cloak around her thin body. At night, in Moon’s dreams, Lusamine was less Lusamine and more Lusamine-Nihilego, black hair iridescent inside of the Ultra Beast’s body.

The Ultra Beast hummed happily and handed her a pokebean.

Mohn clasped a hand on her shoulder. “It seems excited to see you. Maybe you should add it to your party sometime.”

Her hands shook. She said nothing and turned to a Rockruff instead, scratching behind its ear.

* * *

 

“You’re so young,” Anabel said. The large crowd she had been in charge of was starting to dispense, less agitated now that Moon caught the last Ultra Best in the area. She sent them to her box immediately, unable to imagine a life with that large, red body at a hand’s reach. “How old are you, again?”

“Just turned thirteen.” She rubbed a thumb over the surface of Nebby’s pokeball. “A day ago.”

Anabel’s eyes widened. “Oh.” She shifted her weight. “I wish I had gotten you something.”

Moon shook her head. She reached into her bag and pulled out a handful of pokebeans. She handed a few rainbow ones to Anabel’s outstretched hand. “It’s okay.”

“Did you do anything? Celebrate a bit, at least?”

After catching the first Buzzwole and finishing up at the Pokecenter, she all but crawled back home. Her mom left a cake out, along with a few presents. Moon ran her hand over one messily wrapped gift, clearly from Hau. Then, she walked into her room, shut her door, released her Pokemon, and then they all slept together on the floor, curled up against Snorlax.

“A bit.” She ducked her head. Her hair, past her shoulders now and curling in the humidity, curtained her face. She stared down at her shoes. “I had cake.”

* * *

 

 _There’s a new challenger ready for you_ , the note read. The messenger was still perched on his Charizard, ready to fly back with her response. Challengers making it past the Elite Four was rare, now, given how many strong trainers moved on to different regions in the following years since she claimed the title.

She stared at the note. The handwriting was neat; written in pink pen. Maybe Olivia’s work, though she wouldn’t put it past Hala, if she were honest.

There was still dry sweat on the back of her neck. Her thighs ached from clutching at the Charizard all the way from the Resolution Cave back to the motel and then to Aether Paradise, only to finally come home, to rest. Moon took a deep breath and folded the note back into the envelope. She pulled out her ride pager and called for Charizard back.

“Tell them I’ll be there soon.”

In the Pokemon Center, the clerk grinned at the site of her and opened a cabinet behind him with a key. “You can purchase more goods now that you’re the champion,” he said.

She nodded and bought enough potions and revives to last her a solid month.

The Elite Four were tougher this time around: Hala’s Primeape managed to knock out Raichu, at one point, and she sent out Mimikyu to take a hit while she revived it; Olivia’s team got through three of Moon’s before she called out Nebby. In the end, she won.

The champion’s room was still...solitary. The seat beneath her chilled the back of her thighs, even through the jeans she wore.

The slam of the door opening echoed in the champion’s room. Moon perked up in her seat. She grinned at the sight of green hair.

* * *

 

“It’s hard to be strong enough to admit you’re weak, you know?”

Four of her pokemon fainted. Nebby was on the verge of it. Decidueye held up by a thread. There was sweat at the back of her neck.

Hau grinned at her, red-faced and teary-eyed. Moon shook her head and called Decidueye back into its pokeball.

“You’re the strongest person I know, Hau. And you beat your grandpa, didn’t you? Haven’t you always wanted to do that?”

He nodded. His watery smile wavered.

“You’re going to beat me one day.” She reached him and took a hold of his hand. “But don’t think I won’t put up a hell of a fight.”

He squeezed her palm. “You wouldn’t be you if you didn’t.”

* * *

 

Two months later, Hau knocked on her door and came into her room, that ever present grin absent. From her bed, with Raichu laying on her stomach, Moon raised an eyebrow and set down her magazine.

He sat at the edge of her bed. Raichu purred happily when he scratched it behind it ears.

“I’m going to Kanto,” he said.

Moon stared.

“I completed the Island Challenge. I beat my grandpa. But I couldn’t defeat you and I...need to get stronger. Become a better trainer so that when I eventually find my dad....” he trailed off. And then, he started speaking faster, his words rushed: “I’ll write to you. Whenever I can. Actually, even when it seems like I can’t. And I’ll send you pictures. So many pictures you’ll be drowning in them. And I’ll find Lillie and the two of us can come back to you as soon as we can, and it’ll be the three of us, like before --”

She called Raichu back into its pokeball and sat up. Hau bit his lip and stared down at his hands. With care that she only really reserved for her pokemon, she tilted his face up to meet her eyes with two fingers underneath his chin. She kissed him. His lips were chapped and dry, but fit effortlessly beneath her own.

When she pulled away, his eyes were closed. They blinked open. His face was as red as hers felt.

“Do what you have to.”

* * *

 

The ferry disappeared into the horizon.

Moon closed her eyes. Breathed in deeply. Exhaled. When she opened her eyes, Hala was staring at her.

“You’re his best friend, you know.”

She smiled.

* * *

 

She found Gladion at Aether Paradise, of all places, frowning at a group of pokemon playing in the conservation area.

After...everything, she avoided the island as much as possible, only really returning to visit Wicke once she caught all the Ultra Beasts. Too many memories, she refused to admit to herself.

“Sulking?” She grinned.

He rolled his eyes, stuck his hands in the pockets of his jacket. He was taller, his shoulders broader. He was around sixteen, now, wasn’t he? About two years older than her and Lillie and Hau.

Hau kept his birthday marked in one of his journals, she remembered. He blushed when she pointed it out.

“Watching,” he replied. Moon’s smile remained on her face despite the bite. “Taking a break from the Island Challenge. You know, that thing you don’t quite seem to know how to do.”

“Foreign concept.” She reached into her bag - a new one this time, bright red and, according to her mother, more grown up than that lemon purse she carried around for the better part of the last few years (she still missed it) - and pulled out a malasada. “Sour, just like you.”

He cracked a smile at that.

* * *

 

Hau sent a letter: a fat one, heavy in her hands when she opened her mailbox. She stuffed it into her purse. Raichu sniffed at the air and tilted its head, staring up at her with wide eyes. She reached down, pet between its ear, and then scooped it up into her arms.

“We can read it inside,” she said. She pressed a kiss to the top of its head and it nuzzled her chin.

Her mom wasn’t home. Neither was Meowth. She searched for a note in the kitchen, but the fridge was just as bare as it had been in all the years since moving to Alola. She checked under a box, just in case.

Nothing.

Her bedroom was the only room in the house without any boxes. Hau helped her unpack a year or two ago, back when he first stepped foot into her room and stared wide eyed at the mess before offering to help out.

After setting Raichu on her bed, where it curled up on her pillow, she sat at the edge and released the rest of her pokemon. Ninetales nudged Moon’s cheek with the tip of its nose before settling near the closet. Snorlax was asleep in the center of the room, limiting space - only for Nebby, really, who huffed and settled on its stomach near the window. Mimikyu hid under the bed, like it tended to do. Decidueye stood beside her, head tilted, staring down at the letter in her hand.

She pulled a handful of beans out of her bag and offered them to Decidueye. It fluffed up, seemed to smile, and its beak lightly scratched the palm of her hand as it ate.

The letter, predictably, went on for five pages, front and back. There was a thick pile of polaroids along with it that she set aside for now.

 _Dear Moon, Dearest Moon, My Dear Dear Friend,_ Hau started off. Moon smiled and laid down in bed.

* * *

 

“Your hair is longer,” Gladion pointed out, tugging on a lock of black hair, curling in the humidity. Back in Kanto, her hair remained silky straight, barely a strand out of place.

Moon frowned and leaned away. He grinned, letting go of her hair.

“I need a haircut,” she said. She tucked her hair behind both ears. It reached mid-back, now, longer than it ever was in the past. It weighed heavy on her back, but especially here, in Hau’oli, feet away from the ocean. “So do you.”

“Hey, I keep up with mine.”

She placed a hand in front of one of her eyes.

“You used to have a fringe too.”

“Not like yours.”

He huffed.

A child ran towards the water, a Slowpoke slowly following them. They splashed water in its general direction until it finally made it and swam over to its owner, the child scooping it up into its arms.

“Have you been to the Poni Beachfront?” She hugged her knees to her chest.

Gladion shook his head.

“It’s not as nice as this beach. But Poni Meadow is near it.” She shrugged. “That’s the prettiest place in all Alola.”

“No,” he said. The ever present buzz of Hau’oli City persisted in the background. Sand stuck to the back of her thighs and she knew that when she got home, there would be more in her shorts. “I think Mount Lanakali is. Just...all that snow.”

“Hau said it was too cold.”

Gladion smiled. “Of course he did.”

“He turned fifteen a few days ago,” she said. “I sent him some malasadas.”

He nodded. “So did I.”

They looked at each other and burst into laughter.

* * *

 

 _We’re leaving for Sinnoh in a few days,_ Lillie wrote. _Hau said we can stock up on winter clothes once we actually arrive since Kanto doesn’t really offer anything appropriate. I was thinking of getting a hat for Sylveon, actually! Or knitting one! I’ve been learning, but it’s been a pretty slow process since I’ve been so busy._

_I actually beat all eight gyms, Moon! I used to be so afraid, so so afraid, of pokemon battles. The thought of pokemon getting hurt…_

_But whenever it’s gotten too hard, I’ve thought of you; your strength and determination throughout the island challenge, in helping me with my mother...You became champion because of your love for pokemon. I can only hope and keep working as hard as I can to be as strong as you!_

_I beat only two of the Elite Four. The third battle was the hardest...but I’ve learned a lot! And Hau’s been here throughout most of it, cheering me on!_

_I haven’t heard back from you in a while...I hope everything’s alright! I saw a gossip magazine one of these days, actually, with a picture of you and Gladion? They were speculating on whether you two were dating...If you are, I’m happy for you! But if you aren’t, magazines sure are silly...I hope that if you do find someone, you’d want to tell me!_

_Bill’s been taking good care of my mom...She actually hugged me and had a good conversation with me while we ate dinner last time I saw her! She’s been making so much process and I’m so proud of her._

_Oh! I guess I forgot to mention, or maybe I just thought that Hau mentioned it already in the last letter he wrote to you: The reason we’re going to Sinnoh is because one of the gym leaders, Green, had a lead on Hau’s father! Considering how we went through this journey together for so long, I figured it’d be great to help him on this. Sinnoh sure is going to be different from Alola…_

_Hopefully we’ll come back soon! I miss you so much..._

 

* * *

“Come with me to Poni Island.”

If it weren’t for the way his shoulders tensed at the sound of her voice, Moon wouldn’t have guessed that she surprised Gladion. He turned to look at her, hands in his pockets, a frown on his face.

“Why?”

She remained at the door of his and Lillie’s childhood home. The side stairs were still barred. The pristine floors reflected the beams of sunlight filtering through the windows, except a spot, shadowed by Gladion’s form standing in front of an open window.

“You need to get out of here,” she said. She reached into her purse and pulled out one of the pictures Hau sent: Lillie, her hands gripping the straps of her pink bag, staring up at the form of Mt. Silver from her spot in the center of a meadow, surrounded by pink and purple flowers. Her Sylveon stared up at her. She handed it to Gladion. “They’re happy.”

Gladion held the picture as if it were made of glass. The turn of his mouth softened.

“Hau left to find himself. Just like Lillie. So they could both...become who they want to be.” She shifted her weight from one leg to another. “I can’t do that. Not yet...But you don’t have to stay here. Not all the time. You said...You told me that you wanted to complete the Island Challenge and get stronger. Aren’t you tired of me kicking your ass?”

With a snort, he handed back the photo. “Like I’d let you do that again.”  

* * *

 

None of the trainers on route to the Poni Gauntlet tried to challenge her again, probably remembering how easily she beat most of them the last time she passed by. They fought Gladion, though, who won and lost in equal measures.

At the Poni Plains, Moon stopped and held an arm out. Gladion paused along with her.

“Fearrows like to ambush here,” she warned.

He snorted. “Like we can’t handle them.”

“They’re stronger here.” She let him go and began to lead him towards the meadow. “All pokemon here are. So are the trainers. I’ve only made it as far as the coast before flying back home. Professor Kukui said that the Gauntlet has trainers stronger than him.”

“Then why aren’t we going there now?”

She pushed the hanging purple flowers aside for Gladion, grinned at the sight of the fog curling in the air. The water bubbled loudly across the meadow.

“Because you have to see the prettiest place in all Alola.”

* * *

 

The root bridge leading to the Resolution Cave was sturdy, stable. Moon still stepped carefully over it, arms outstretched.

“It’s not going to fall.” Gladion stood at the end of the bridge, arms crossed over his chest. The meadow’s fog seemed to curl around his form and dim the blond of his hair.

Moon walked slower. At his groan, she smiled at her feet.

“No need to complain,” she said once she reached him. She looked up, smiled, only for Gladion to tip his face down and press his mouth to hers. Her arms tensed against her sides for a moment and then she placed her hands on his shoulders, gently pushing him away. He took a step back and her arms fell back limply against her sides.

His eyes blinked open, a similar shade of green to Lillie’s. His face flushed pink, matching hers.

“I’m sorry,” she said.

“Me too,” he replied.

* * *

 

“I’m...lonely,” Gladion admitted. The dim light of the flashlight this deep into the cave wasn’t enough to show the pink of his face, though Moon could almost feel the heat of it from where she walked beside him. “I think that’s why I -”

“It’s okay.”

“No, I shouldn’t have -”

“I’m lonely too.” Her thumb smoothed over the curve of Nebby’s pokeball.

* * *

 

Gladion left her at the entrance of Poni Gauntlet.

“I’m not ready for these trainers yet,” he said, staring off at the ocean. Moon clutched at the strap of her purse with both hands, her knuckles glaring white. “But I will be, soon. After I complete the challenge.”

 _No one stays_.

“Good luck,” she said, instead.

* * *

 

Kukui warned her about the Battle Tree back when she first won her championship.

“It’s a place for the strongest of the strongest to get better.” He grinned at her, ruffled her hair. Her cheeks were still flushed from the heat of battle. “Fitting place for you, don’t you think?”

When Green and Red stepped forward, Moon froze in place.

“Moon, right?” Green grinned. His face lacked the baby fat she remembered from the videos she’d seen of back when he first became the champion, then lost, then became a gym leader. He was tall - just a bit more so than the man standing next to him.

Moon swallowed the lump in her throat and stared back and forth between the two.

“Yes.” She nodded, once, stiffly.

“I’m Green and that’s Red,” he said, jabbing a thumb in Red’s direction.

His hat shadowed his face, but Moon imagined the red of his eyes, wondered how similar they were in hue to the way they looked in the poster she had had hanging up in her bedroom back in Kanto.

“Gee, you talk just about as much as Red, huh?” Green nudged Red with his elbow. “Anyways, how about a battle? Which one of us will you choose?”

* * *

 

Green stared at her with raised eyebrows as Red counted out the money.

“Well, how about that?” He scratched the back of his neck.

Red handed her the money. She accepted with shaking hands.

“Can I ask you something?” she said, quickly, before they could walk away. They hung back, curious eyes on her. “Is...Is Leaf with you?”

Green glanced at Red, who just stared at her with his hands in his pockets.

“She’s on Ula’ula Island, last she mentioned. Wanted to check out the new Elite Four. Should’ve come here with us to get to meet you, in my opinion, but you’re bound to meet her,” Green answered.

Moon nodded. “The three of you...I’ve looked up to you all my life. And Leaf actually...inspired me to become a trainer.”  

“She’s inspiring, alright.” Green smiled. He nodded towards the Battle Tree. “We’ll see you up there, I imagine.”

Moon stayed rooted to her spot as they walked uphill. Her hands still shook even as she pulled out the ride pager and called for Charizard.

* * *

 

Moon sat at the top stair, thighs burning. The climb remained just as difficult this time as it did when she first ran up, desperate to help Lillie. This time, she climbed slowly. She took breaks. She tooks sips of her water and watched as the sun set.

No end of the world. No fear curling in her chest.

Only an ache.

She pushed herself up. The moonlight illuminated the Altar of the Sunne, the rocks down below nothing but specks.

The wormhole swirled in front of her, its light blinding. Her eyes burned.

She stepped through.

* * *

 

It was daytime here.

Moon blinked. Blinked again. Glanced down at her watch, only to see it set to nighttime.

She climbed down, taking careful sips of water as she stared up at the sky. At the bottom, she saw the sign.

 _Altar of the Moone_.

She called for Charizard and flew to Ula’ula Meadow.

* * *

 

 _Lake of Sunne_ , the sign read.

The hallway leading to the center was as endless as the climb to the altar. She walked slowly, took her time taking in the debris littering the floor, tried to open some of the doors, only to find them jammed shut.

At the top, Nebby escaped its pokeball. Moon stumbled back and stared wide-eyed at the sight of Nebby, standing proudly, all eleven feet of it, its white mane flowing. It roared and the air distorted around them, a bat-like figure glitching in front of Nebby, something like a screech echoing in the air.

And then:

_“Cosmog.”_

* * *

 

The sun was rising when she stepped back from the wormhole. She stared at the rising sun, turned the pokeball over and over in the palm of her hand as she stood in the center of the altar.

She smiled; the turn of her lips, for once, soft on her face.

* * *

 

After Charizard flew back into the sky, Moon walked into the Hau’oli City Salon.

The hairdresser ran her hands through Moon’s hair.

“There’s so much of it,” she said. “Are you sure?”

Moon nodded.

* * *

 

Snow melted onto the back of her neck. Moon wiped at the skin and continued climbing up to the top of Mount Lanakali.

“If you step into the Pokemon League, you won’t be able to leave again until you either beat all of the Elite Four or are defeated in the process. Will you attempt it, even knowing that?”

“Of course,” Moon said. “I’m the champion.”

* * *

 

Gladion counted out the money, slowly, with a smile on his face.

“You did good,” she said, accepting it.

“But you’re better.”

She smiled, ducked her head down, only to remember she left the wide-brimmed sunhat back at home. The red toque sat comfortably on the top of her head.

“You deserve to be champion,” he said with a smile. He held his hand out. After a moment, Moon clasped her hand in his and squeezed his palm.

* * *

 

Iki Town’s celebrations were loud, even from her room at home. Moon glanced at Decidueye, who seemed to shrug as much as a bird-type pokemon could.

“Mom? I’m heading to Iki Town for a bit,” she called out from the living room.

No response.

She trekked north. Fireworks went off in the sky, an array of reds and greens and blues. At the center of town, the trial captains and kahunas celebrated, drinks in hands, pokemon out. Some were battling.

She caught a flash of green hair in the crowd.

Her chest ached.

“There’s our champion!” Mallow yelled out. The crowd cheered, loud, almost as deafening as the fireworks. “Get in here!”

She stepped towards the crowd. Ilima nodded at her and handed her a soda with smile. Hapu kissed her cheek. Moon flushed pink as she wandered between everyone, answering greetings with a nod and a smile, until she made it to Hala, who clasped a hand on her shoulder.

“We have a new Melemele Kahuna,” he said.

Moon stared.

“Go to the bridge. They should be there.”

* * *

 

A Sylveon nuzzled up to her leg.

Moon scratched behind one of its ears and, with her free hand, lightly touched the silk ribbon tied around its neck.

“Moon.”

She looked up.

Lillie smiled and Moon’s chest tightened.

“Lillie, look at this!” a familiar voice yelled. “Tapu Koko’s left something behind!”

Hau skidded to a stop behind Lillie with a grin on his face, taller than Moon remembered him. His gaze slid over to her and his eyes widened.

“You’re back,” she said. Her eyes flitted from Lillie to Hau to Lillie, again, and again, unable to stop staring at the slope of her nose, the curve of his smile. “You guys came back.”

“The three of us, together,” Lillie said.

“Just like before,” Hau replied.

* * *

 

“We couldn’t find his father,” Lillie said, petting Nebby, who purred and rested its head near her thigh. “But we got some other leads. And Hau beat Sinnoh’s Elite Four! Though their champion, Dawn…”

“I think even you’d have trouble battling her,” Hau said. “She was so strong! It was possibly the hardest battle I’ve ever gone through.”

Lillie nodded. “I almost beat the fourth trainer! But I guess I just wasn’t ready.”

Sand stuck to the back of Moon’s thighs. She sat, leaning against her Snorlax, face pressed against its belly. She stared at Lillie happily petting Nebby and at Hau, laying back in the sand, head resting on his arms, his Primarina dozing with its head on his stomach. No trainers swam in the water, not this late at night, and Kukui was still in Iki Town. She doubted she’d see him near the lab any time soon.

“Are you...leaving soon?” Moon asked.

Lillie shook her head. “No. Hau’s Kahuna now - ”

Hau’s grin seemed perfectly etched onto his face.

“ - And Gladion’s just starting to run the Aether Foundation. Bill’s taking good care of my mom and she’s gotten so much better...I was thinking of staying and going through the Island Challenge myself.”

Moon smiled. “I’m glad.”

Lillie’s gaze lingered on her before she glanced down at Nebby, her face pink.

“Me too.”

* * *

 

Later that night, when Hau fell asleep, and the island celebrations fell into silence, Moon stepped outside the lab to find Lillie on the porch, staring at the ocean. She stopped besides her and rested her hands on the railing.

“It’s not as different as I thought it’d be,” Lillie said.

“No, it’s not.” Moon stared at her profile, at the now prominent cheekbones, the faint freckles sprinkled on the bridge of her nose, just as she remembered. Her hair rested in a thick braid down her back, now, instead of the ponytail she first wore after the ordeal with her mother. “But some things are. You’ll see.”

“I missed you.”

Moon reached for Lillie’s hand on the railing, the smallest of smiles on her face. When Lillie turned to look at her, Moon leaned forward and kissed her, slowly, shyly. When Lillie kissed back, she smiled against her mouth.

A moment later, Moon pulled back, unable to contain her smile.

“I missed you too.”

* * *

 

“I’ll battle you soon,” Lillie told Hau with a grin. He stood with his arms folded behind his head, that wide grin on his face. “Just wait. I’ll make it here in no time.”

“Hey, I don’t doubt it!” He nodded in Moon’s direction. “It’s her you gotta worry about at the end of your journey.”

At Moon’s pink face, they both laughed. Just as Lillie took a step towards the door, Moon said, “Wait.”

She reached into her belt and pulled out a pokeball.

“Your Alola starter,” she said.

Lillie accepted it with furrowed eyebrows. When she released it, she stared, wide-eyed.

“A Cosmog.”

"Good luck." Moon grinned. “We’ll see you soon, Lillie."


End file.
